Pet toy simulating animal sound

ABSTRACT

The invention is a novel pet toy wherein a specialized reed and accordion style squeaker tube is attached to a dual layer self-inflating chamber and mimics the “moo” of a cow when an animal depresses the toy. A plush fabric outer layer is designed to look like a cow.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to stimulating, encouraging andmotivating games and methods of playing regarding pets, e.g. dogs andcats. More particularly, the invention relates to motivational games,toys and methods for assessing the pet training skills in the form ofgames or puzzles that incite pet interaction and memory skills.

PRIOR ART

There are many squeaking pet toys on the market, and most have randomsqueaking sounds which may incite pet interaction, but do not sound likean animal. The benefit of such a toy is clear from research studies ofanimal's auditory response from actual animals such as cows, elk, catsor even other dogs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The novel squeaker design of the inventive toy has been designed to makea sound that closely resembles the “moo” of a cow. The toy is composedof various plastic injection molded parts nested inside each other andpositioned within an air sealed self-inflating chamber. Theself-inflating bag chamber can also be filled with polyurethane foam.

The object of the present invention is to motivate and maintain interestof a pet. The self-inflating bag responds when squeezed by filling withair and creating a low pitch sound that mimics a cow's “moo” as the airtravels through a squeaker and reed nested into an accordion style tube.

The combination of parts includes a self-inflating bag chamber which ishoused within a flexible outer shell and which two layers may be filledwith filled with polyurethane foam to aid in shape retention of the toy.An accordion style tube is affixed to the inner and outer chambers andcontains a large reed and toning wedge, and a molded snap-fit cap thatregulates air flow within the bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention most closely corresponds with USPTO Class 119/707 whereinClass 119 relates to animal husbandry and sub-class 707 includes toys,lures, fetch and related devices.

In its simplest form, the invention relates to a novel toy for petswhich mimics the “moo” sound of a cow by utilizing a novel squeakerconstruct and dual chambered body. When compressed, the perforations inthe cap allow air to be filled into the self-inflating inner chamber,and as the air traverses through these sections, the reed and toningwedge create the specific sound of a cow's “moo” to stimulate pet play.

The Invention SUMMARY, OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

It well known that pets do experience a sense of boredom, and if notaddressed, may manifest in negative behavior such as chewing furnitureor going to the bathroom in undesirable locations in the pet owner'shome. The inventive toy is designed to capture and retain a pet'sinterest whether the pet owner is away or home. The pet owner canmanipulate the toy in some way to actively play with the pet as well.The toy is not designed to “replace” human interaction, but rather tohelp keep a pet entertained even if the owner is not also interactingwith the toy and pet.

The inventive toy includes an outer plush fabric layer in the design ofa cow, and a self-inflating inner chamber housed within a flexible outerchamber, within polyurethane foam may be inserted between the twochambers, an accordion style tube that houses a large reed and toningwedge; and a molded snap-fit cap that regulates air flow within the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in further detail by reference to eight (8)drawings sufficient in detail to describe the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the outer shell and the inner chamber;

FIG. 2 shows the squeaker neck and accordion section of squeaker and cowsound reed;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the outer shell and membrane chamber;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the reed housing piece as connected to theaccordion squeaker; an

FIG. 5 is a top view of the squeaker strainer which aids in producingthe cow sound.

FIG. 6 is an example of the plush outer covering.

FIG. 7 is the rear view of plush cover.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the plush cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION, INCLUDING BEST MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the self-inflating bag chamber 1 wherein the polyurethanematerial filler 2 is shown as housed within the self-inflating bag. Whenthe toy is squeezed, the bag inflates with air creating a low pitchsound that mimics a cow's “moo”.

FIG. 2 again shows the inflating chamber and outer shell of the toy. Atthe neck of the outer shell and accordion tube 3 the tube is tapered tonest inside opening at the top of the dual chambers. The accordionsection of the tube 4 ends in another tapered section 5 of the tubewhich houses the reed 6 and toning wedge 7. The air flowing throughthese parts creates the sound of a cow's moo. When the chamber is filledwith air, either by a pet depressing the toy or a pet owner depressingthe toy, the self-inflating inner chamber fills with air. The act of theair traveling through the cap and reed, through the accordion squeakersection and into the inner chamber produces a low sound that mimics acow's “moo”.

FIG. 3 is simply an enlarged view of the chamber 1 and outer shell 2 instasis. Since the inner chamber is self-inflating, and further maycontain polyurethane foam between the two chambers, the toy will refillitself with air in a resting state after the pet is no longermanipulating the toy. In other words, the chamber refills with air andwaits for a user to depress the toy and cause it to create the cow's“moo”.

FIG. 4 Shows the connecting point between the accordion squeaker sectionand the reed housing section 5. This connection is achieved by asnap-fit mode which holds the two sections together.

FIG. 5 is a perforated snap-fit cap 8 that resides atop the accordionstyle tube containing the reed and wherein the perforations aid incontrolling the air flow and the resulting sound of the toy's “moo”.

FIG. 6 is the front side embodiment for a plush outer shell in thedesign of a cow.

FIG. 7 is the rear perspective of the plush outer shell in the design ofa cow.

FIG. 8 is a side perspective of the plush outer shell in the design of acow.

1) A pet toy comprising: a) A self-inflating bag chamber which residesin a plastic outer shell for receiving air upon depression of the toy;b) A flexible plastic outer shell which houses the self-inflatingchamber; c) A plastic injection molded accordion style tube with atapered bottom portion to nest the squeaker into the tapered top portionof the outer chamber; d) A reed located at the top portion of theaccordion tube wherein the reed sits inside another plastic tube andwherein the reed also contains a toning wedge for creating a specificcow's “moo” sound; e) A snap fit cap with perforations fits atop thereed and toning wedge tube; f) A plush outer shell sewn to look like acow. 2) A pet toy as in claim 1 wherein the self-inflating chamber bagis flexible for intaking air via compression of the toy, through thereed and accordion tube; and wherein the chamber will naturally returnto its shape prior to depression. 3) A pet toy as in claim 1 wherein aflexible outer shell houses the self-inflating inner chamber, andwherein polyurethane foam may be inserted between the inner and outerchambers to aid in shape retention of the inner and outer chambers. 4) Apet toy as in claim 1 wherein an injection molded plastic accordionstyle tube connects to the top of the chamber piece wherein the bottomportion of the accordion tube has a smooth surface for inserting intothe opening of the outer chamber in a snap fit connection, and the topportion has a smooth outer section which is not in accordion style. 5) Apet toy as in claim 1 wherein a large reed and toning wedge are nestedinside the top portion of the accordion tube in which is thenon-accordion style section. 6) A pet toy as in claim 1 wherein theresulting sound that emits through the accordion style tube and reedportions to mimic the sound of a cow's moo and excludes any other sounddue to the specific design. 7) A pet toy as in claim 1 wherein a snapfit cap containing circular perforations affixes to the top of thenon-accordion style section of the tube and allows a metered amount ofair to flow through the reed and inner chamber of the bag. 8) A pet toyas in claim 1 wherein a plush fabric outer layer is designed to looklike a cow and excludes any other animal outer layer.